The good news just keeps on coming to the Black Box family these days! Yesterday the 2010 Polaris Music Prize Long List was announced, and we’re ecstatic to say that both The Wooden Sky and Shad were included! The Wooden Sky has been nominated for 2009’s “If I Don’t Come Home, You’ll Know I’m Gone”, and Shad has been nominated for the recently released “TSOL”. You can check out the full Polaris Long List here.

In other news, Shad has announced a national tour supporting K’Naan across Canada in the Fall. The dates are as follows:
Sept 25 - Vancouver, BC @ Malkin Bowl
Sept 27 - Calgary, BC @ MacEwan Hall
Sept 28 - Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Events Centre
Sept 29 - Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
Oct 1 - Toronto, ON @ The Koolhaus

A little birdie told me there may be some more dates coming, no promises but stay tuned. Don’t forget to tune into the 2010 MMVA’s this Sunday where Classified is up for 3 awards, and Ten Second Epic is up for one!

Ian

Hey all -

In case you’ve missed it, Shad’s on the cover of the June issue of Exclaim! Huge opportunity, I hope some of you have taken the time to read the article. For those of you that haven’t, check out

On another note, the applications process for the two open positions here at Black Box is now closed. Thanks to everyone that applied, we’ll be contacting those we wish to speak to.

Hey all -

The day is finally upon us! SHAD’s new record, TSOL is available in stores and online. The album should be readily available at HMV, WalMart, CD Plus, Sunrise and some Future Shop and Best Buy locations. Also make sure to check your favourite indie stores first.

Or you can purchase the record on iTunes right now without even moving from your seat. The iTunes version comes with a bonus track and a digital booklet as well.

If you missed out on the in-store performance at Sonic Boom last night, thats too bad - but Shad’s on the road for the next month, so please go check him out live if he’s in your area! Tickets are on sale now.

5/27 - Winnipeg, MB @ Pyramid Cabaret w/Grand Analog
5/28 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo’s w/Grand Analog
6/2 - Whistler, BC @ Garfinkels w/Grand Analog
6/3 - Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore w/Grand Analog
6/4 - Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub w/Grand Analog
6/5 - Kelowna, BC @ Habitat w/Grand Analog
6/6 - Calgary, AB @ Republik w/Grand Analog
6/7 - Edmonton, AB @ The Brixx w/Grand Analog
6/8 - Regina, SK @ The Exchange w/Grand Analog
6/12 - Toronto, ON @ The Opera House w/D-Sisive
6/15 - Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah w/D-Sisive
6/16 - Peterborough, ON @ The Red Dog w/D-Sisive
6/17 - London, ON @ Call The Office w/D-Sisive
6/18 - London, ON @ Call The Office w/D-Sisive
6/25 - Montreal, QC @ Montreal Jazz Festival
6/27 - St. Catherines, ON @ SCENE Music Festival
7/1 - Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Jazz Festival
7/25 - Guelph, ON @ Hillside Festival

http://shadk.com
http://twitter.com/shadkmusic

The MMVA nominations have been announced, and Black Box is happy to share our four nominations with you! Classified is up for 3 awards - Post Production of the Year for “Quit While You’re Ahead” (Ft. Maestro, Choclair & Moka Only), Director of the Year (Cazhmere) for “Oh, Canada…” and MuchVibe Rap Video of the Year also for “Oh, Canada…”. Ten Second Epic is nominated for MuchFACT video of the year for “Every Day” (Ft. LIGHTS). Congrats to Classified and Ten Second Epic, as well as all of the other nominees (especially our friends over at Dine Alone for their 3 Alexisonfire and 1 Arkells’ nominations!). Check out the full list of nominees at muchmusic.com.

On another note, Shad’s track “Yaa I Get It” needs your support on two fronts. Firstly, it’s been picked as iTunes free Single Of The Week for this week, so even if you already have the track, go pick it up (it comes with a sweet cover image!). Secondly, the video for “Yaa I Get It” is pitted against Holy Fuck’s “Latin America” on AUX’s Throwdown - the winner gets to say in Power Rotation - so we need your votes! Head to AUX.tv now to cast your vote, and keep voting all week!

That’s all for now, don’t forget to join us at Sonic Boom on Monday for Shad’s exclusive in-store performance - your first chance to get your hands on TSOL only hours before the street date.

Hey all!

Just a quick update on some tour announcements, and a reminder about some Shad stuff that was announced this week…

SHAD
Lots of stuff going on, so rather than write it all into a flowery paragraph, deal with these links!
IN STORE PERFORMANCE: Monday, May 24th @ Sonic Boom, 7PM
ALBUM PREVIEW: exclaim.ca - Shad’s video was #1 on Exclaim’s Click Hear in April, lets make him #1 again in May!
“YAA I GET IT” SINGLE: Available now on iTunes!
PRE ORDER: maplemusic.com (comes with an exclusive hand-screened poster)
TOUR: Edmonton show rescheduled to June 7th at The Brixx (full dates in the shows section)
ALBUM RELEASE: May 25th!!

LIVING WITH LIONS
LWL just launched their new MySpace last night, which features an in-studio video blog (stay tuned for more coming soon!), tour announcements with Polar Bear Club and Sights & Sounds (full dates in the shows section), and a note about Shayne leaving the band and Bill Crook from A Textbook Tragedy joining. Go to http://myspace.com/livingwithlions for all the info, and make sure to follow the band on twitter - @lwlband.

THE WOODEN SKY
The Wooden Sky have announced a run of dates in the US - some headline dates, and some alongside Indiana’s Austin Lucas (full dates in the shows section). We’ve also announced several festivals for the summer, so pack a blanket and come hang out. More news about some fall headline touring is coming, as well as the European/UK release of ‘If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone”.

The wait is over! If you haven’t already previewed the whole record on SPINNER.CA, or seen the video for “YAA I GET IT” on MUCH OR YOUTUBE, go do so now.

When you’re done having your mind blown, use what’s left of your cranium to go pre-order the album from MAPLEMUSIC.COM! The first 100 pre-orders will also receive an exclusive, hand-screened poster and also be entered into a grand prize draw for an iPod and tickets to an upcoming Shad show.

Spread the word!

Hey all!

You can preview Shad’s entire new album, TSOL at http://www.spinner.ca/2010/05/04/shad-tsol-new-album/. It includes an interview with Shad discussing each track, and streams of all songs in their entirety. If you can’t wait until May 23rd, check it out on Spinner.ca now!

Ian

Hey all. It’s opening day for our Toronto Blue Jays, and hopefully that along with another Maple Leafs (and soon to be Raptors) elimination from the play-offs, the SUMMER is almost here! Here’s the latest…

SHAD
If you were living under a rock last week, you missed our big announcement via Exclaim that Shad’s new record, TSOL will be hitting shelves on May 25th. In support of the record, Shad also announced tour dates with Grand Analog and D-Sisive, as follows:
w/Grand Analog
5/27 Winnipeg, MB - Pyramid Cabaret
5/28 Saskatoon, SK - Amigo’s
5/29 Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room
6/3 Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Cabaret
6/4 Victoria, BC - Sugar Nightclub
6/5 Kelowna, BC - Habitat
6/6 Calgary, AB - Republik
w/D-Sisive
6/12 Toronto, ON - The Opera House
6/15 Hamilton, ON - Casbah
6/16 Peterborough, ON - The Red Dog
6/17 London, ON - Call The Office
6/18 London, ON - Call The Office
Keep your eyes peeled this week - we’ll be launching the new video for the first single off of TSOL, “Yaa I Get It”, directed by HotDogGarbage. You can see a quick teaser HERE- just TRY not to watch it more than once!

JUNOS
Black Box is heading to St. John’s later this week for the 2010 Juno Awards! Ten Second Epic and Classified are nominated for awards, and both have very busy weekends scheduled. Classified, and Ten Second Epic’s Andrew Usenik and Patrick Birtles will be taking part in the Juno Cup (musicians vs. NHL alumni). Check out Andrew and Pat training HERE.

Beyond that, both artists are playing shows as part of Junofest on Friday night - visit the JUNO FEST WEBSITE for details, and make sure to tune in on Sunday night for the red carpet and award ceremony!

AND IN OTHER NEWS…
- The Wooden Sky have launched part 9 of their “Documentary In Parts” series from last summers Bedrooms & Backstreets tour on their VIMEO CHANNEL. The band is home for now after 2 solid months on the road. We’ll be announcing some summer festival appearances in the coming days…

- Living With Lions is now confirmed to be in studio with Dan Weston in May to record the follow up to 2008’s Make Your Mark. Expect the record out this fall on Black Box in Canada and Adeline in the US. We’ll be announcing some tour dates for June in the next week or so as well!

- Northcote continues across Canada with Dave Hause from The Loved Ones this week, culminating in a show with Frank Turner at the Media Club in Vancouver. Visit his MYSPACE for all the details. Northcote is also confirmed for Sled Island Festival in Calgary this summer - hit up SLEDISLAND.COM for the full lineup.

- Crash Parallel is back in studio recording some new tracks for their forthcoming release. More info is coming, so stay tuned or visit CRASHPARALLEL.COM for more details.

As always, make sure you’re following Skate4Cancer’s skate through Australia. They have a lot of exciting stuff happening, including C1rca’s commitment to donate $1 toward a S4C drop-in centre in Toronto for every time THIS VIDEO is viewed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg_zrN9_W5c
Check it out and please pass it along!

That’s all for now!
Ian

Hey friends -

Just a quick note. As some of you may already know, we’ve been working with a great up and coming band from Aurora called Brighter Brightest. We’re excited to formally welcome them to the Black Box roster! They released the ‘Welcome Home EP’ last spring before doing a string of dates on the Skate4Cancer tour and another cross-Canada tour with Living With Lions in the fall. They’re currently on a headlining tour through Ontario with Use As Directed and In Lights - check the BRIGHTER BRIGHTEST MYSPACE for all the dates. Stay tuned for new music and hopefully a new record before the year is out. These guys have been working hard for the last year, touring their asses off and writing great tunes. We’re really excited to have them on the Black Box management roster. Welcome Derek, Alex, Kyle and Ryan!

We’ll also be unveiling another addition to the Black Box Music management roster in the next couple of weeks. Exciting times as the family grows - we hope you like what you’re hearing.

Ten Second Epic are building on the momentum of their first Juno Nomination - they’ve just announced some European tour dates! Look for them in your Hometown in May. Visit tensecondepic.com for all the details.

Finally, Northcote has announced a handful of tour dates across Canada with Dave Hause of The Loved Ones. Check myspace.com/northcotemusic for all the details.

That’s all for now! New Shad tunes, Living With Lions recording details, Juno fun and more in the next update!
Ian

Ok - we’ve been slacking on our web updates, but we have some really exciting news to share!

The 2010 Juno Award Nominations have been announced, and we’ve got artists with 4 nominations! Ten Second Epic pop their Juno nom cherry with a New Group of the Year nomination, while Classified is nominated for Single, Video and Rap Recording of the Year. Big day for us here at Black Box - Ten Second Epic’s ‘Hometown’ and Classified’s “Self Explanatory” were huge priorities for us this past year. It’s great to see our artists recognized for their accomplishments. Congrats to Andrew, Dan, Sandy, Pat, Craig & Luke for these well deserved honours. We’ll see you in St. John’s for a party! Congrats also goes out to all the other nominees!

On another note, Shad’s new record, titled “TSOL” is now scheduled for release on May 25th. We’ll have new music for you in the next week or two, so stay tuned here or to our twitter (@weareblackbox) to find out how you can be among the first to hear it.

The Wooden Sky are finishing up their coast-to-coast tour this week, and then preparing for the Chartattack CMW Showcase at The Horseshoe on March 13th. All the details for that showcase can be found HERE.

That’s about all for now! Thanks again for your ongoing support!

Ian